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You may like East West Bank East West Bank Premier Savings Account if you live near a branch and are eligible to waive monthly fees.
Overall Bank Rating
| Feature | Personal Finance Insider rating (out of 5) |
| Savings | 3.25 |
| Checking | 3.5 |
| CD | 3.25 |
| Trustworthiness | 4.75 |
| Total: | 3.75 |
Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|
|
Checking
$5 monthly service fee
None
$100
- Unlimited check writing
- 2 free withdrawals at out-of-network ATMs per month
- You may qualify to waive monthly service fee
- $100 minimum opening deposit
- $5 monthly service fee
- After the first 2 out-of-network ATM withdrawals per month, you'll pay $1 each time
- $30 overdraft fee
- Branches in CA, GA, MA, NV, NY, TX, and WA
- Free access to ATMs in the East West Bank, Allpoint, and MoneyPass networks
- $5 monthly maintenance fee; waived with a monthly average balance of $1,500 or a combined average monthly balance of $5,000 or more in qualifying East West Bank consumer deposit accounts
- First 2 out-of-network ATM withdrawals each month are free (although the ATM provider may charge you a fee); after that, it's $1
- FDIC insured
East West Bank Value Checking Account is a pretty standard checking account. You'll need $100 to get started, and there's a $5 monthly service fee unless you qualify to waive it. East West Bank offers several other checking accounts, too. There's an option for students, one for senior citizens, and one that pays interest, to name a few.
Savings
$3 monthly service fee
0.01%
$100
- You may qualify to waive the monthly service fee
- No monthly service fee if you're under 18
- Low APY
- $100 minimum opening deposit
- $3 monthly service fee
- Branches in CA, GA, MA, NV, NY, TX, and WA
- $3 monthly maintenance fee; waived with a monthly average balance of $2,500 or a combined average monthly balance of $10,000 or more in qualifying East West Bank consumer deposit accounts
- No monthly service fee if you're under age 18
- Interest compounded daily, paid monthly
- FDIC insured
You may like East West Bank Premier Savings Account if you qualify to waive the monthly fees. The interest rate is low, but comparable to what you'll earn with most brick-and-mortar banks. To earn a higher rate, consider opening one of the best high-yield savings accounts at an online bank.
CD
Contact your local branch for APY
$1,000
- Terms as short as 32 days
- Competitive rates for longer terms
- Low-to-standard early withdrawal penalties
- $1,000 minimum deposit
- No terms longer than 5 years
- Must contact branch to learn about APYs
- Branches in CA, GA, MA, NV, NY, TX, and WA
- Terms ranging from 32 days to 5 years
- Early withdrawal penalties: 90 days simple interest on the principal withdrawn on terms of 1 year or less, 180 days simple interest on the principal withdrawn on terms over 1 year
- Interest compounded daily
- FDIC insured
You'll need to contact your local branch to ask about CD rates and early withdrawal penalties. In general, rates on longer-term CDs are higher than what you'd earn at many in-person banks. You'll still earn better rates at online banks, though.
How East West Bank Works
East West Bank is a bank that originally opened to serve Chinese Americans in the Los Angeles area. Now it has branches in the following US states:
- California
- Georgia
- Massachusetts
- Nevada
- New York
- Texas
- Washington
It also has branches in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shantou, and Shenzhen.
You have free access to branches in the East West Bank, MoneyPass, and Allpoint ATM networks. East West won't charge you for the first two out-of-network ATM withdrawals each month, although the ATM provider might. After that, it's $1 per out-of-network transaction.
The mobile app has 4.7 out of 5 stars in the Apple store, and 4.2 out of 5 stars in the Google Play store.
Call to speak to a live customer service agent Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. PT. Or call Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT.
Your deposits are FDIC insured for up to $250,000, or $500,000 for joint accounts.
Is East West Bank Trustworthy?
The Better Bureau Business grades individual East West Bank branches separately. Each branch has received either an A- or A+ grade. A strong BBB score indicates a company responds to customer complaints effectively, is honest in its advertising, and is transparent about business practices.
East West Bank doesn't have any public scandals, so you may decide you feel comfortable banking with this institution.
How East West Bank Compares
East West Bank's largest presence is in California, so we've compared it to two other banks in the state that originally opened to serve Chinese Americans: American Continental Bank (Member FDIC) and Cathay Bank (Member FDIC).
East West Bank Review vs. American Continental Bank Review
East West Bank has many more branches around California than American Continental, so you may prefer it if you frequently travel around the state. But you might like American Continental if you want a smaller banking experience.
American Continental Bank offers more types of loans than East West, so you might like it if you want to borrow and bank at the same place.
East West Bank Review vs. Cathay Bank Review
East West and Cathay have very similar offerings, from types of accounts, to interest rates, to monthly fees. Your choice between the two could come down to which has a branch closer to your home.
You might prefer East West if you expect to use out-of-network ATMs, because you can use two out-of-network machines for free each month. East West also only charges you $1 for each additional transaction, whereas Cathay charges you $2.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed East West Bank
We rate bank accounts on a scale from one to five stars. For East West Bank's checking and savings accounts, we used Personal Finance Insider's bank account ratings methodology. The exact factors we evaluate vary depending on the type of account — for example, we look at overdraft fees for checking accounts and interest rates for savings and money market accounts.
For East West Bank's CDs, we used our CD rating methodology which looks at interest rates, minimum opening deposits, early withdrawal penalties, CD variety, customer support availability, mobile app ratings, miscellaneous features, and the security and ethics of the company.
We use a weighted average to get our star rating, which means we weigh certain features, like interest rates and fees, at a higher weight percentage than others. We understand that these areas can more heavily impact a person's overall banking experience.
